A Pulitzer and T.S. Eliot Award Laureate at Politehnica University Timișoara

6 October 2023

On Friday, October 6, 2023, the "Ioan Anton" Amphitheater at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Politehnica University Timișoara hosted an exceptional conference delivered by one of the most distinguished poets of our times, a laureate of both Pulitzer and T.S. Eliot awards, as well as a renowned academic, Paul Muldoon.

During the event, moderated by Tudor Crețu, the director of the Timiș County Library and a cultural program host at Teleuniversitatea Timișoara, with the theme "My Software: Poetry as a (Re)Programming Language," Paul Muldoon analyzed the mechanisms of literary creation and creativity, offering essential insights to those interested in enriching their imagination and activity. Among the questions addressed were: How, when, and why do we write? Are there techniques to summon the muse or enter the creative state? What motivates us and triggers the creative process? Can we control the emergence of ideas? Can we influence our mental "software"? How do we overcome mental blocks?

In this context, Paul Muldoon engaged in a dialogue with students, pupils, and educators from Timișoara, presenting techniques for searching and finding solutions not only in poetry but also in science, engineering, and more.

Paul Muldoon was born in Armagh County, Northern Ireland, in 1951, and currently resides in New York. A former radio and television producer for the BBC in Belfast, he has been a professor at Princeton University for thirty-five years. He has published fourteen volumes of poetry, including "Howdie-Skelp," published by FSG and Faber and Faber in 2021.

He has received numerous awards, including:

- The Eric Gregory Award in 1972.

- The Sir Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 1980.

- The T.S. Eliot Prize in 1994.

- The Poetry Prize from the "Irish Times" in 1997.

- The Pulitzer Prize in 2003.

- The Griffin International Poetry Prize in 2003.

- The American-Irish Literary Award in 2004.

- The Shakespeare Prize in 2004.

- The European Prize for Poetry in 2006.

- The Pigott Poetry Prize in 2015.

- The Royal Gold Medal for Poetry in 2017.